The Teacher Work Sample: An Authentic Assessment Lisa D. Murley S. Kay Gandy Department of Curriculum & Instruction

Assessment Tool How can universities effectively use data to answer questions about student performance?

Renaissance Partnership Project Five-year initiative by 11 teacher preparation institutions in 10 states Improve quality of graduates and teachers in local partner schools by focusing attention on P-12 student learning Teacher Work Sample (TWS) Provide credible evidence of a candidate’s ability to facilitate learning of all students Assess performance relative to national and state teaching standards.

What is a Teacher Work Sample? Content Unit Provides documentation of a teacher candidate’s ability to plan, deliver, and assess standards- based instruction. Provides instruction embedded evidence of the impact of teaching on student learning.

Components of the TWS TWS Standards Prompt Rubric Critical teaching performances expected of all candidates Prompt Teaching tasks that provide candidates an opportunity to demonstrate critical performances Rubric Specific instructions for judging critical teaching performances

Teaching Processes Assessed in the Teacher Work Sample Use of Teaching Context Unit Learning Goals Assessment Plan Instructional Design Instructional Decision-Making Analysis of Learning Results Reflection on Teaching and Learning

Scoring the TWS Analytic Rubric Holistic Rubric Scoring Training Descriptors for grading each component of the TWS Holistic Rubric Assignment of Overall Score Scoring Training Instructors, Supervising Teachers Validity and Reliability

Uses of Teacher Work Samples: Achieving State Standards Components Kentucky Teacher Standards I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX Contextual Factors X Learning Goals Assessment Plan Design for Instruction Instructional Decision Making Analysis of Learning Results Reflection and Self-Evaluation

TWS as Assessment Teacher Candidates score their students on a pre/post test and analyze results Instructors score the TWS using rubrics and indicators TWS serves as Critical Performance standard to indicate success of Teacher Education Program

Assessment Implications Teacher Work Sample Teacher candidates assess P-12 students. WKU Instructors assess teacher candidates. College of Education assesses teacher education program. Implications Teacher candidates design instruction. WKU Instructors make improvements in instruction. College of Education refines teacher education program.

Viewing the Assessment Handouts TWS Scoring Guide Analysis of Scoring

Think, Pair, Share Generate a response to one of the following questions and share your response with a neighbor. How can this information be applied to your teaching and learning situation? How can the data collected from the TWS make a stronger impact in your teaching and learning situation?

Student Teachers Say... “I learned that what I do and how I do it and why I did it makes a big difference in student learning. It made me understand what reflective practice really means.” “My students showed a gain in learning and this gave me confidence as a teacher.” “This was a rewarding experience because I was able to prove that my students will leave third grade knowing more because of my teaching.”

Faculty Say... “In reading work samples for my area, I actually saw evidence that students performed the skills I taught.” The teacher work samples can show us the strengths and weaknesses of our teacher education program.” Finally, a framework that puts all of the processes of teaching into a big picture for our students.”

A Cooperating Teacher Says… “The teacher work sample prompt gives me direction and focus to discuss the connection between teaching and learning with my student teacher.”